After Tennessee's 2019 firearm-definition change, can convicted felons possess antique firearms like black-powder guns?

Subject

Possession of Antique Firearms by Felons

Plain-English summary

Tennessee's felon-in-possession statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307, prohibits various categories of people from possessing firearms. People convicted of a felony crime of violence, an attempt at one, a felony involving a deadly weapon, or a felony drug offense are prohibited from possessing all firearms. People with misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence, those subject to orders of protection, and people prohibited under federal law or another state's law are similarly barred. People convicted of any other felony are barred from possessing handguns specifically.

Until 2019, Tennessee's definition of "firearm" did not distinguish between antique firearms (think black-powder muzzleloaders, certain pre-1899 firearms, and replicas thereof) and modern weapons. The AG's prior opinions had read the felon-in-possession bans to cover antique firearms as well, in contrast to federal law, which has long excluded antiques from the federal "firearm" definition in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3).

Public Chapter 279, effective May 2, 2019, brought Tennessee in line with federal law on this point. The new act amended § 39-11-106(a)(11) to exclude antique firearms from "firearm," and added a new definition of "antique firearm" at § 39-11-106(a)(37) that mirrors the federal definition in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16). Because antiques are no longer "firearms" under state law, the state-law bans in § 39-17-1307 (whether the all-firearms ban for serious felons or the handgun-only ban for other felons) no longer apply to antiques. The AG was direct: convicted felons and other people identified in § 39-17-1307 are no longer prohibited under state law from possessing antique firearms.

The opinion does not address federal law. It resolves only the Tennessee state-law question, and a change to the state definition does not displace any separate federal restrictions, which the AG did not analyze here.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What did Public Chapter 279 actually change?

Two amendments. First, it modified § 39-11-106(a)(11) to take antique firearms out of the definition of "firearm." Second, it added a new subsection (a)(37) defining "antique firearm" to mirror the federal definition in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16). The federal definition generally covers firearms made on or before 1898 and certain replicas using non-fixed cartridge ammunition (muzzleloaders, flintlocks, percussion cap firearms).

Why did the AG's prior opinions reach the opposite conclusion?

Before Public Chapter 279, Tennessee law had no separate antique-firearm category, so the broad term "firearm" pulled antiques into the felon-in-possession bans. The AG's 2015 opinions (Op. 15-33 and Op. 15-75) reflected that reading: a felon could not possess any firearm, antique or otherwise, unless his or her firearm rights were fully restored.

Does this opinion authorize felons to buy antiques at retail?

No. The opinion addresses only Tennessee's state criminal prohibitions on possession. It does not reach federal law or any other restriction; the AG explicitly limited the analysis to state-law possession.

What about handguns specifically?

Section 39-17-1307(c)(1) prohibits any felon from possessing a "handgun." Subsection (a)(16) defines "handgun" as "any firearm with a barrel length of less than twelve inches" designed or adapted to be fired with one hand. The AG concluded that this prohibition also no longer reaches antique firearms because antiques are no longer "firearms" under state law: a definition cannot capture something that has been excluded one definition layer up.

Has the legislature signaled any plans to revisit this?

The opinion does not address future legislation. The 2019 amendment was an active legislative choice to align state law with the federal definitional structure. Whether subsequent legislatures have reconsidered or modified that alignment is outside the scope of the opinion.

Background and statutory framework

Tennessee's felon-in-possession structure operates on two tiers. Section 39-17-1307(b) applies the most serious bans (all firearms) to convictions for crimes of violence, deadly-weapon felonies, and felony drug offenses. Section 39-17-1307(c) applies a narrower ban (handguns only) to people convicted of any other felony. Section 39-17-1307(f) covers misdemeanor domestic violence, orders of protection, and federal/out-of-state-law prohibitions, all triggering the all-firearms ban.

Each of those provisions uses "firearm" as defined in § 39-11-106(a)(11). When Public Chapter 279 carved antique firearms out of that definition, it pulled them out of the entire downstream prohibition structure as a matter of statutory text. The opinion's core move is straightforward: definitions cascade. If antiques are not firearms, they are not handguns either, and the felon-in-possession bans on firearms and handguns do not apply.

The 2019 alignment also has practical implications for prosecution and charging decisions. Before the amendment, an antique muzzleloader in the home of a person with a felony record could give rise to a state firearm-possession charge. After the amendment, that scenario has to be analyzed under federal law, not state law. Federal prosecutors and state prosecutors look at different statutes after this change, even when the physical item is the same.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-11-106(a)(11), (a)(16), (a)(37)
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1307(b)(1)(A), (B); (c)(1); (f)(1)(A)-(C)
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(3), 921(a)(16)
• 2019 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 279, §§ 1, 2
• Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 15-75 (Nov. 9, 2015)
• Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 15-33 (Apr. 10, 2015)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2019/op19-19.pdf

Original opinion text

October 9, 2019

Opinion No. 19-19

Possession of Antique Firearms by Felons

Question
Public Chapter 279, which became effective May 2, 2019, exempted "antique firearm[s]" from the definition of "firearm" in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(11). 2019 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 279. Do the prohibitions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307 on the possession of firearms by individuals convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors still apply to the possession of antique firearms?

Opinion
No.

ANALYSIS

Tennessee law, like federal law, prohibits individuals convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors from possessing firearms. Under the applicable provisions, an individual convicted of a "felony crime of violence," an "attempt to commit a felony crime of violence," a "felony involving the use of a deadly weapon," or a "felony drug offense" is prohibited from possessing all firearms. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(b)(1)(A), (B). That same blanket prohibition applies to an individual who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, who is subject to an order of protection, or who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law or the law of any other state. Id. § 39-17-1307(f)(1)(A)-(C). Individuals who have been convicted of any other felony are prohibited from possessing only handguns, not firearms generally. Id. § 39-17-1307(c)(1). For purposes of that prohibition, a "handgun" is defined as "any firearm with a barrel length of less than twelve inches" that is designed or adapted to be fired with one hand. Id. § 39-11-106(a)(16).

Before the effective date of Public Chapter 279, Tennessee law, unlike federal law, did not distinguish between antique firearms and firearms more generally. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(11) (2018); contrast 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) (defining "firearm" and providing that the term "does not include an antique firearm"). Accordingly, this Office concluded in previous opinions that the state law prohibitions against possession of firearms applied to possession of antique firearms as well. See Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 15-75 (Nov. 9, 2015) ("As a general rule, a person who has been convicted of a felony may not possess any antique, black powder, or any other type of firearm unless his firearm rights have been completely restored."); see also Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 15-33 (Apr. 10, 2015).

Public Chapter 279 aligns Tennessee law with federal law by amending the definition of "firearm" in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(11) to exclude antique firearms. See 2019 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 279, § 1. It also adds a definition of "antique firearm" to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a) that mirrors the federal definition in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16). 2019 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 279, § 2, codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(37).

Accordingly, antique firearms, as newly defined in § 39-11-106(a)(37), are no longer included within the definition of "firearm" under Tennessee law. As a result, convicted felons and other individuals identified in § 39-17-1307 are no longer prohibited from possessing antique firearms. Nor does the prohibition on the possession of handguns apply to antique firearms. That prohibition applies, by definition, only to "firearms" with specific characteristics, id. § 39-11-106(a)(16), and antique firearms are no longer considered "firearms" under state law.

In sum, as a result of the passage of Public Chapter 279, the prohibitions in § 39-11-1307 on the possession of firearms and handguns by individuals convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors no longer apply to antique firearms.

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

JONATHAN DAVID SHAUB
Assistant Solicitor General

Requested by:
The Honorable Kerry Roberts
425 5th Avenue North
Suite 730 Cordell Hull Bldg.
Nashville, TN 37243